Thursday, October 27, 2011

One has to wonder why the governor acts like such a fool at times. Efficiency is when your employees have time to deal with family issues. This is going to hurt women with children. Employers across the state should understand that children should always come first in this state.

A parent who cannot flex their schedule in order to either pick up or drop off their children on time is a distracted worker. It is a parent’s responsibility for always to be there on time for their children. What type of person would force a parent to abandon their child in order to keep their job? Men are guiltier of this behavior most times, than women are. However, our governor has failed to behave like a woman when it comes to this issue. How can she say that she is supportive of protecting our children when her own policies promote child abandonment?

Women in New Mexico should send the governor a strong message that this type of policy change is unacceptable for state workers. Only someone who does not care about our children would enact such a policy statewide. Mothers should be outraged at the governor’s lack of responsibility when it comes to issues like this one.

If even one supervisor of a state employee tells a mother that their schedule will not be flexed because of this policy then the state should be sued for child endangerment. Childcare workers make it clear to any parent in this state that if they are not on time to pick up their child that the police will be called. What kind of employer would put a parent in that kind of inexcusable position in the first place?

The governor should be publicly forced to explain her policy. She should explain to state workers who are mothers how this policy will ensure a safe and protected environment for their children.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Women's Equality Activist Lilly Ledbetter Endorses Marty Chavez“Marty Will Be a Voice for the Families He Represents”

Today, women's equality activist Lilly Ledbetter, namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, endorsed former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez in his bid to represent New Mexico’s First Congressional District in the House of Representatives.“I'm proud to announce my support of Marty's candidacy for Congress, a true friend in the struggle for equality.

I know he will serve New Mexico's 1st Congressional District with honor and integrity and be a voice for the families he represents,” said Ledbetter.

“I’m honored to have the support of someone who has so significantly advanced equality issues in our time,” said Chavez.

Ledbetter added, “Together, we can make a difference by sending the right kind of representatives to Washington. I'm living proof that the right thing doesn't always happen automatically and that even today, equality and fairness can still be hard to come by. I hope you'll join me in helping Marty Chavez become the next leader for equality in Congress.”

Ex-Mayor Martin Chavez is picking up some very high quality endorsements from women who care how other women are treated in this state. Chavez worked hard to make Albuquerque a good place to raise a family during his time in the Mayor’s office.

Further Questions for the Candidate:

Let us hope that he puts out a statement on how he would approach educational issues in the near future. As mayor, Martin tried but was blocked when it came to affecting the local educational system. Will he support teachers in a manner that helps them to provide a quality education to our children in this state? Will he encourage positive methods and theories of teaching, which will empower our children with the knowledge of how to learn? On the other hand, like most politicians will he simple be happy with further breaking no child left behind until it destroys public education in this nation? Will he protect the federal grant programs that help provide a path to higher quality jobs in this state for women?

Since leaving office, Martin Chavez has worked in the green jobs industry. Can he bring more green jobs to our state if he is elected Congressman of the first congressional district?

We still have a lot of time to ask all of the candidates for the first congressional district these difficult questions. Let us hope that we can find a candidate that can give us the support and the encouragement to vote for them on Election Day.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Communication is a two-way exchange of ideas between individuals. In today’s world, it is all about controlling the message. If you do not want to hear what other have to say on Facebook you simply, delete it. No one bothers to delve into hot topic any longer.

The idea of asking a question, in the attempt for further understanding someone else’s viewpoint, is outdated. Analyzing issues for common ground is unheard of in today’s political world. How can we begin to build a better world if we are unwilling or unable to questions ideas? What is wrong with asking someone for further clarification of a statement? What is wrong with asking the basic question of who, where, what, and why?

The questions we should be asking the tea party are:

Why do you not want to raise taxes?

How would raising taxes negatively affect your life?

Tell me more and explain where you get your facts.

How has big government affected your life?

Has there ever been a time when government did something right?

Why do you feel that government cannot help the poor?

Who else will help the poor if not government?

What would or could replace Social Security?

Do you understand that in the market system of stocks there are more losers then winners?

What would happen to the people who are losers in the Stock Market when it comes to their retirement funds?

Should we as a civilized society care about the elderly?

If we do not care, then how will that affect the middle class?

Do we expect young people to support their parents at the same time they support their children?

What affect would that have on our economy?

Next time you are faced with someone who is angry with the current government rather than attack ask questions. Look for common ground to stand on, and be willing to listen to the other side before making a judgment call. Communication is and has always been a two-way street.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The governor is against social promotion for grade school children as we all know. She has spoke loud and long on the subject. So why are we now faced with a system that would promote social promotion for adult learners who attend college? This issue is an outrage to every college and university educator across the state.

Saving money at the expense of closing colleges and universities in this state is the biggest mistake any governor could ever make for New Mexico voters. We need a system, which rewards educators for quality work without harming them for factors that are out of their control.

The governor needs to look at factors, which cause students to leave school or fail a class in the first place.

Factors Such As:

This state needs childcare for single parents. Because they cannot bring their children to class, since children in the classroom would destroy the learning environment for all.

We need reliable transportation for getting students to class on time everyday of the week. Missing classes can cause a student to fail a class.

Health care so students do not infect their classmates. Flu shots go a long way toward keeping students in the classroom.

Tutoring and basic education skills classes are needed for students that have been out of the system for long periods. How much do you remember from your fourth grade math class?

Socialization and mental health issues are a rising factor in the classrooms. Students need to understand how to communicate with others in a socially acceptable manner. Mental illness can cause major harm to the learning process for all involved. No one wants to see another Virginia Tech incident.

We should be training educators in methods that work when it comes to adult education. People are not born knowing how to teach adults. Pulling skilled workers out of the workforce to teach classes does not mean that they know how to teach other people those skills. Education is a learned skill just like all other higher professions. Do we really want them learning on our future workforce?

Education reform should be about dealing with the issues that cause students to fail classes and leave school. We can have the world’s best educators in our colleges and universities, but if a student is not prepared to learn then nothing we can do will fix it.

Punishing Educators for factors they have no control over will drive them out of New Mexico and further harm our educational system. Educators do not go into the field in order to get rich but the United States needs to understand that other countries, which are having success, are putting money toward helping educators. These countries have respected their educators, which is something that our country is failing in across this nation.

Monday, October 10, 2011

In the dark of night while the public was fast asleep in their nice warm beds and unable to see, the Albuquerque Police forcible removed protesters from Yale Park. The group was not a large one. A republican, Mayor R. J. Berry, runs the police force of course. Berry does not care about the middle class in this city. He is too busy directing his police force to protect the upper classes property.

Occupy Wall Street is a growing movement of young people who want to change things for their generation. With the cost of an education becoming more expensive, the possibility of paying those costs with a job are not likely for the younger generation. People can see why their children are angry with the upper one percent of this country’s population.

Corporations and the wealthy in this country are not paying their far share. Tax rates may be high but loopholes are far too many. The result is that middle class Americans pay far more in taxes then corporations and the wealthiest one percent of our population.

Corporations are not investing profits back into endeavors that would create new jobs for the next generation in this country. The rich is sitting on their fortunes while people go hungry on Main Street in this country.

Class warfare is something that republicans fear most in this country, but it does not stop the elected republican officials for creating an environment that would lead to it in the end. They want to keep the population docile, while they rob the average voters of any hope for a prosperous future.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The difference between how the county clerk and the city clerk handles elections is worlds apart.

The Bernalillo County Clerk, Maggie Toulouse Oliver, is a careful methodical well-organized county official. She does her homework, and she trains her employees well when it comes to elections. Ms. Oliver is very in favor of voting centers, which would allow easy access to voting locations. The idea of not having to drive all the way home to vote is very appealing to people who work in the city. With the right preparation, the new system of voting centers could work well for our city. The new system if run effectively could also save our county large sums of money, which could then be used to increase the number of people who vote in elections.

The Albuquerque City Clerk, Amy B. Bailey, is not what I would call a well-organized city employee. If her first election is any example, she will not be a great public servant. I would strongly suggest not attempting any down play of her mistakes. Voters hate long lines. They hate having their right to vote questioned based on ethnic origin. Discrimination carried out by a white woman from the east coast will not go over well in this state when it comes to the voters.

Ms. Bailey should be looking to Mrs. Oliver for sound advice on how to handle voters in the city.

I am sadly disappointed with the reaction from the local press when it comes to protecting voter’s rights. When we had a problem in the primary election a few years ago, the press hounded the party leader. They demanded he resign from his position.

So why down play the mistakes made in a city election now? Why is the local press not demanding answers from Ms. Bailey on the reasons why her employees were so poorly trained for this election? Why have they not demanded to know how many people were driven away by the failures of the voting machines? What affect did these problems have on the results of the city council elections? What areas of the city were most affected by the problems? Would the result have been different if there had been not problems? Where is the local press’ righteous outrage?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Well the vote started out with less than stellar results. Machines were not working in polling places around the city this morning. Voters were being questions about their right to vote. While I was voting, one person who lived in the county but outside the city had to call the clerk’s office just to find out that their name was on another list.

The city clerk had not trained people well on how to conduct themselves. Machines had not been checked before the voting started. Otherwise, they would have known had they done their work. With fewer voting places, lines were long in some areas of the city this morning. I gave the person my voter ID card when I went to vote. I asked the person if I needed to show a picture ID. The person said no. I have a sold feeling the reason for that answer was that I am blonde with white skin.

The Mayor’s Administration is looking very incompetent at running the city voting after all of these problems at the polls. This is all coming on the heels of complaints by a group that says the Mayor's Administration violated the law against using their position to campaign for the Mayor’s pet project.

The pet project a sports field is not something that would improve the culture of our city. Then again, Major Berry is not known for being a very cultured man. He has little hope of ever reaching the same social status as Mayor Chavez.

Here are some suggestions for Mayor Berry. Rather than one large sport complex, why not provide nicer play areas around the city for our children. Why not improve the roads rather than just laying thin paving over old roadway in the older parts of the city. Stop dumping sex offenders in those areas of the city. Why not improve our city by providing reduced cost or free cultural activities for our children.

These big sports complexes do not provide access for our children because of the distance they have to travel just to use the new facilities. Neighborhood residents do not like the increase in traffic caused by these large sports complexes. Noise becomes a major issue for any family living around these sports complexes.

I would encourage voters get out and go vote for their city councilor today. Yes, Rey I voted for you. We need more democrats on the council to protect the city from a failed Mayor and his administration. The last thing we need is a rubber stamp republican majority on the city council.

Facebook Page

http://www.youtube.com/mrycllns

My Cartoons

Quotes:

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

The O'Coilean (O'Collins)

'A great host with whom it is not fortunate to contend, the battle-trooped host of the O'Coileain."Abraham Lincoln

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."From NPR Radio"Rosa sat so Martin could walk.Martin walked so Obama could run.Obama ran so our children can fly!"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."Unknown"Friendship is loving someone no matter what is in their past. It is accepting the fact that they are human and that they have made their share of mistakes over a life time. Trust is being able to tell your friend the most private secret knowing that they will not judge you. A life is not lived well without that one true and trusted friendship."Mary Harris "Mother" Jones

"My job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable"

Albert Einstein

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."Will Rogers"I don't belong to an organized party--I'm a democrat."President John F. Kennedy, Democrat“If by a ‘liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people—their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties—someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal.’”Martin Luther King Jr.

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."

Lora O'Brien

"All I can do is share one person's experiences on her own path, not tell you how to walk yours. If a guru is what you are looking for, find another! If I am a teacher, it is because I am already walking the path that you, Dear Reader, may wish to be on. Although each of us must make our own way, I can put up signs at least, and make the way slightly less hazardous for those who wish to walk a similar path."

C. S. Lewis

"Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives."

A Female Democrat

1/1/10 A new year and a number of future elections to cover. The budget will be a major issue this year and we must work hard to protect the core values of our party.